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Saturday, February 2, 2013

516 suicides across all branches for 2012

While Col. Carl Castro was quoted in this article, he was not asked why his programs have failed and what is being done to correct this less than honorable outcome. Why isn't anyone asking him about Battlemind? Why isn't anyone asking him about Resilience Training? Why isn't anyone asking who is being held accountable for any of this?

Army Col. Carl Castro, director of the Military Operational Medicine Research Program, said that while much is known about factors involved suicides, the Pentagon is playing catch-up.

and then he said

“And I think that's sort of where we're at and why this is such a difficult problem to get a hold of,” Castro said. “They're all fully engaged, so I think until we can sort of turn that corner and get that sort of maximum involvement, it's always just going to be a real tough nut to crack, but we are committed to solving this problem.”

Most suicides ever for Army, military
By Sig Christenson
Updated 11:01 pm, Friday, February 1, 2013

The Army, by far the largest branch of the armed forces, set a record for suicides last year with 325, almost two-thirds of all military suicides.

It also was a record year throughout the military, with 516 suicides across all branches.

Suicides have bedeviled the military for years, with deaths rising after the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the Army, which has borne the brunt of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, has suffered the most.

Posts most involved in those wars reflect the problem, and none has more suicides than Fort Hood.

The Central Texas installation, which sent two divisions to Iraq three times, has had 129 suicides since 2003, including 19 last year.

The Army's Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Office has found that suicides are driven by a complex set of factors ranging from deployment time and relationship problems to substance abuse and money woes.

A plague of military suicides
The Army has tried to curb the number of soldiers killing themselves amid repeated tours to war zones, but so far it's found no solutions. The number of suicides since 2003 reported at some of the Army's largest posts:
Fort Hood: 129
Fort Bragg, N.C. : 101
Fort Campbell, Ky.: 92
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.: 81
Fort Carson, Colo.: 59
Fort Stewart, Ga.: 57
SOURCE: U.S. Army

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